158 NATURAL SCIENCE. Aug. 1893. 



Mr. Platnauer "On the Arrangement of Insect Collections in Museums," and Mr. 

 Newstead " On the Preparation of Coccidse for Museums." The day concluded with 

 a visit to the British Museum, and a Conversazione at the Royal College of Surgeons. 

 The Royal Wedding on Thursday fortunately provided an excuse for open-air work, 

 and the members visited the Zoological Gardens and Sir John Soane's Museum. 

 Thursday and Friday were devoted to exhibitions of museum appliances, or visits to 

 various smaller private collections, while Saturday was agreeably spent by a visit to 

 Dr. Hutchinson's private museum at Haslemere, and a ramble over the Hind Head 

 district. 



The papers read at the meetings will be printed later on, but Sir William 

 Flower's address is already to be found in Nature (July 6 and 13). He again 

 emphasised the absurdity of the crowding of specimens, pointed out the value 

 of good labelling, isolation of objects, suitable backgrounds, and necessity of space, 

 and referred to the insignificant amount expended by Government on the develop- 

 ment of museums ; he also referred to the contemptible offers which had lately 

 appeared in the newspapers for curators of local museums— a subject mentioned in 

 our comments last month. After speaking on the general theory of museum arrange- 

 ment. Sir William Flower gave a sketch of the museums at the Jardin des Plantes, 

 Paris, at Vienna, and at Berlin, and noticed " the most original and theoretically 

 perfect plan for a museum," explained to the British Association by General Pitt- 

 Rivers in 1888, finally presenting a plan of his own, which contemplates a one- 

 storied, top-lighted building, in which the front galleries would be devoted to the 

 public exhibitions, a second series of galleries would contain the reserve collections, 

 while a third set of rooms would be occupied by the officers and students. In such 

 a place as this the absurdity of having to walk a quarter of a mile and climb several 

 staircases to compare a fossil plant with a recent plant, or a mammoth with an 

 elephant, as one has now to do in the British Museum (Natural History), could not 

 exist, and the officer in charge would be in direct communication with his reserve 

 and exhibited series, instead of being, as in many cases, far removed. Another 

 point brought out in this plan is the necessity for a lecture theatre, and an arrange- 

 ment in construction of the officers' workrooms by which isolation from the main 

 building is effected so as to permit those who desire to do so to remain for work 

 instead of having to leave at an appointed hour. We hope to hear more of this 

 plan, for many students would heartily welcome some radical changes in the present 

 arrangement and working facilities of most public museums. 



